Monitoring system, monitoring apparatus and monitoring method

ABSTRACT

In a monitoring system for monitoring parking of a vehicle in a specific area by a monitoring image pick-up device, and a monitoring apparatus, the monitoring image pick-up device includes an image pick-up portion. And the monitoring apparatus includes: a parking area enter/exit determining portion for determining whether or not a vehicle enters or exits from the specific area; an imaging setting change instructing portion for instructing the image pick-up portion to change an imaging setting to another one suitable for capturing a vehicle image containing specific information on the vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle enters or exits from the area; and a parking determining portion for calculating a time for which the vehicle is parked in the area from image capturing time when the vehicle enters the area, and image capturing time when the vehicle exits from the area.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent ApplicationNo. JP 2006-343003, filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Dec. 20,2006, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a monitoring system which, for example,is suitable for being applied to a system for monitoring illegal parkingof a vehicle in a no-parking area, a monitoring apparatus, and amonitoring method.

2. Description of the Related Art

In response to recent security crackdown for an illegally-parked vehiclein a general road or the like, for the purpose of reducing labor costsfor crackdown staffs, a monitoring apparatus or a monitoring systemwhich can detect an illegally-parked vehicle is devised.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-099685 discloses that a parkedvehicle which is parked in one and the same position for a predeterminedperiod of time or more is specified based on vehicle identificationinformation, vehicle position information, and acquisition timeinformation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Now, with such a monitoring apparatus or monitoring system, a vehiclewhich is being parked in a no-parking area is photographed by using amonitoring camera, and video data obtained by photographing the vehicleis recorded as evidence for illegal parking. The specification for theillegally-parked vehicle is carried out by using information on a numberplate of the illegally-parked vehicle in many cases. In such cases, themonitoring camera for photographing the illegally-parked vehicle isinstalled in a position where it can photograph the number plate of theillegally-parked vehicle.

However, in a state in which a plurality of vehicles areparallel-parked, or the like, an angle at which the number plates of theparked vehicles can be photographed is limited to very narrow one. Inorder to precisely photograph the number plates of the respective parkedvehicles in such a situation, there is encountered a problem that, forexample, one monitoring camera must be installed per one vehicle as anobject of the crackdown, that is, a plurality of monitoring cameras mustbe installed for a plurality of vehicles parallel-parked.

The present invention has been made in the light of the foregoing, andit is therefore desirable to provide a monitoring system, a monitoringapparatus and a monitoring method each of which is capable of recordingthat a vehicle is parked in a specific area such as a no-parking areafor a given period of time without increasing the number of monitoringcameras installed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention there is provided amonitoring system for monitoring parking of a vehicle in a specific areaby using a monitoring image pick-up device, and a monitoring apparatusfor performing the monitoring based on video data obtained by capturingan image of the vehicle by the monitoring image pick-up device. Themonitoring image pick-up device includes an image pick-up portion forcapturing an image of the specific area and a peripheral area thereof togenerate the video data. And the monitoring apparatus includes: aparking area enter/exit determining portion for determining whether ornot a vehicle detected based on the video data generated by the imagepick-up portion of the monitoring image pick-up apparatus enters orexits from the specific area; an imaging setting change instructingportion for instructing the image pick-up portion of the monitoringimage pick-up apparatus to perform changing of an imaging setting toanother one suitable for imaging of a vehicle image containing thereinspecific information on the vehicle when the parking area enter/exitdetermining portion determines that the vehicle detected based on thevideo data enters or exits from the specific area; and a parkingdetermining portion for calculating a period of time for which thevehicle is parked in the specific area based on imaging time of an imagewhen the vehicle enters the specific area, and imaging time of an imagewhen the vehicle exits from the specific area, both the images beingcaptured by the image pick-up portion of the monitoring image pick-updevice in accordance with the instruction issued from the imagingsetting change instructing portion.

According to the above embodiment of the present invention, the image ofthe vehicle when the vehicle enters or exits from the specific area iscaptured. When the specific area, for example, is a no-parking area on aroad, a front portion and a back portion of the vehicle are not blockedby adjacent parked vehicles or the like either in a phase of enter intothe specific area or in a phase of exit from the specific area. Thus,the specific information on the vehicle is free from concealment. As aresult, the specific information on the vehicle is contained in thecaptured image of the vehicle.

In this case, since the angle at which the image of the vehiclecontaining therein the specific information on the vehicle is capturedis not limited, it is unnecessary to install a plurality of monitoringcameras for capturing the image of the vehicle containing therein thespecific information on the vehicle.

According to the embodiments described above of the present invention,it is possible to record that the vehicle is parked in the specific areafor a given period of time based on the image of the vehicle in thephase of entering the specific area such as the no-parking area, theimage of the vehicle in the phase of exiting from the specific area, andthe information on the period of time for which the vehicle is parked inthe specific area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are views explaining respective constructional examplesof a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an internal constructionof a monitoring camera in the monitoring system shown in FIGS. 1A and 1Baccording to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a constructional example of a clientterminal (monitoring apparatus), in the monitoring system shown in FIGS.1A and 1B, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing processing for monitoring anillegally-parked vehicle in a monitoring method according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a view explaining an example in a phase of normal monitoringin the monitoring method according to the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a view explaining an example in a phase of detection of avehicle in the monitoring method according to the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a view explaining an example in the course of parking of thevehicle in the monitoring method according to the embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 8 is a view explaining an example in a phase of exit of the vehiclein the monitoring method according to the embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In an embodimentwhich will be described below, the present invention is applied to amonitoring system composed of a monitoring camera (monitoring imagepick-up device), and a client terminal (monitoring apparatus). Here, themonitoring camera captures an image of a no-parking area and aperipheral area thereof to generate video data and metadata (attributeinformation) of video data such as imaging time information. Also, theclient terminal detects an illegally-parked vehicle by analyzing thevideo data and the metadata obtained from the monitoring camera, andcalculates a period of time for which the vehicle is illegally parked.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are views showing respective connection constructions inthe monitoring system according to this embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 1A shows the monitoring system in which the clientterminal acquires the video data and the metadata outputted from themonitoring camera through a network. This embodiment will now bedescribed by giving the case where the present invention is applied tothe monitoring system having the construction as shown in FIG. 1A as anexample. However, as shown in FIG. 1B, the present invention may also beapplied to a monitoring system (server/client system) in which a server12 acquires video data and metadata outputted from the monitoring camera1, and supplies the video data and the metadata thus acquired to aclient terminal 3. Or, in the case of a monitoring camera having amoving image detecting function and a metadata analyzing function, thismonitoring camera may be used in the form of stand-alone.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the monitoring system 100 is composed of themonitoring camera 1, the client terminal 3, and the network 2. Here, themonitoring camera 1 captures an image of a monitoring area and aperipheral area thereof to generate video data, and generates metadatasuch as data on imaging time from the video data. The client terminal 3stores the video data and the metadata which are acquired from themonitoring camera 1 and carries out specification of an illegally-parkedvehicle, and calculation for a parking period of time by analyzing themetadata. Also, the monitoring camera 1 and the client terminal 3 areconnected to each other through the network 2. In this embodiment, it isassumed that the monitoring camera 1 for capturing the image of themonitoring area and the peripheral area thereof is installed in aposition located above the no-parking area, or the like, and the clientterminal 3 is installed on the premises or the like of an agency forcarrying out the crackdown for the illegal parking. The details of themetadata will be described later.

The metadata which the client terminal 3 acquires from the monitoringcamera 1 through the network 2 is analyzed through a metadata filter(hereinafter referred to as “a filter” as well) which is previously setwithin the client terminal 3. When it is determined as the result ofexecuting the filter processing that a vehicle being photographed entersor exits from the no-parking area, in order to cause the monitoringcamera 1 to photograph a number plate as vehicle specificationinformation, the client terminal 3 supplies a changing instructionsignal for a photographing setting to the monitoring camera 1. Notethat, it is to be understood that the number of monitoring cameras, thenumber of client terminals, the number of servers and client terminalsare not limited thereto in this embodiment.

Here, a description will now be described with respect to the metadatagenerated in the monitoring camera. The metadata means attributeinformation of the video data obtained by capturing an image of anobject by the monitoring camera 1. Thus, the metadata is composed ofobject information such as an ID, the coordinates and a size of adynamic body (object), information on a number plate of a vehicle,photographing time information, direction information on the monitoringcamera, and the like when the dynamic body (corresponding to the vehiclein this embodiment) is detected by the monitoring camera 1.

The metadata filter which is described on the assumption that it ispreviously set in the client terminal 3 is one in which the rules foranalysis of the metadata are described. For example, the following sevenkinds of metadata filters are known as the kinds of metadata filters.

Appearance: a filter for discriminating whether or not a body(hereinafter referred to as “an object” as well) exists in a certainarea.

Disappearance: a filter for discriminating whether or not a body appearsin a certain area and exits from the certain area.

Passing: a filter for discriminating whether or not a body passesthrough a certain borderline.

Capacity: a filter for counting the number of bodies existing in acertain area, and discriminating whether or not the cumulative number ofbodies exceeds a predetermined value.

Loitering: a filter for discriminating whether or not a body loiterswithin a certain area for more than a predetermined period of time.

Unattended: a filter for discriminating whether or not a body which hasentered a certain area and does not move exists in a certain area formore than a predetermined period of time.

Removed: a filter for detecting that a body which has existed in acertain area is removed.

When the result of analyzing (filter-processing) the metadata by usingthese filters shows that there is an object corresponding to any one ofthose filters, this result is outputted in the form of alarminformation. With regard to the data outputted in the form of the alarminformation, there are “the number of objects” as the number of objectsagreeing with the filter conditions, “the cumulative number of objects”as the cumulative total value of the objects detected by using anysuitable one of those filters, and the like. In this embodiment, anillegally-parked vehicle is detected by using the Passing filter, andthe object information or the like on the illegally-parked vehicle thusdetected is outputted in the form of the alarm information.

Next, a detailed internal structure of the monitoring camera 1 shown inFIG. 1A will now be described with reference to a functional blockdiagram of FIG. 2. The monitoring camera 1 is composed of a video datagenerating portion 21 surrounded and indicated by a dashed line, animaging setting changing portion 22, and a metadata generating portion23. Firstly, portions constituting the video data generating portion 21will be described below. An image pick-up portion 212 photo-electricallyconverts a captured light which is imaged on an image pick-up element(not shown) in the image pick-up portion 212 through a lens portion 211to generate an imaging signal Sv.

In addition, the image pick-up portion 212, for example, includes apreamplifier portion (not shown) and an analog/digital (A/D) conversionportion (not shown). The preamplifier portion amplifies an electricalsignal level of the imaging signal Sv, and removes a reset noise throughcorrelation double sampling. Also, the A/D conversion portion convertsthe imaging signal Sv from an analog signal to a digital signal. Theimaging signal Sv for which the various processing is executed in theimage pick-up portion 212 in such a manner is supplied to an imagesignal processing portion 213.

The image signal processing portion 213 executes image signal processingfor the imaging signal Sv supplied thereto from the image pick-upportion 212 to generate video data Dv. With regard to the image signalprocessing, there are carried out Knee correction, γ correction, whiteclip processing or black clip processing, and the like. Here, in theKnee correction, a portion of the imaging signal Sv at a certain levelor more is compressed. In the γ correction, a level of the imagingsignal Sv is corrected so as to follow a γ curve. Also, in the whiteclip processing or black clip processing, a signal level of the imagingsignal Sv is limited so as to fall within a predetermined range. Thus,the video data Dv is supplied to a data processing portion 214.

The data processing portion 214, in order to reduce an amount of datawhen communicating with the client terminal 3 or the like, executesencoding processing for the video data Dv supplied thereto to generatevideo data Dt. Moreover, the data processing portion 214 causes thevideo data Dt to have a predetermined data structure, and supplies theresulting video data Dt to the client terminal 3.

The imaging setting changing portion 22 carries out change or the likeof a direction and a resolution of the monitoring camera 1 so as toobtain the optimal captured image in accordance with a changinginstruction signal CA inputted thereto from the client terminal 3. Theclient terminal 3 determines whether or not the vehicle enters or exitsfrom the no-parking area. When recognizing that the vehicle enters orexits from the no-parking area, the client terminal 3 transmits thechanging instruction signal CA to the imaging setting changing portion22 of the monitoring camera 1. When receiving the changing instructionsignal CA from the client terminal 3, the imaging setting changingportion 22 supplies instruction signals to perform changing of animaging direction, a zoom ratio, a resolution, and the like to the lensportion 211, the image pick-up portion 212, the image signal processingportion 213, and the data processing portion 214 of the video datagenerating portion 21, respectively. The details of the determinationrelating to whether or not the detected vehicle is illegally-parked onewill be described later.

The resolution of the image photographed by the monitoring camera 1 isset at a low resolution such as a quarter video graphics array (QVGA) ina state in which the monitoring camera 1 monitors the no-parking areaand the peripheral area thereof. Also, when the vehicle which hasentered or exited from the no-parking area is detected, the resolutionof the image photographed by the monitoring camera 1 is set at a highresolution such as a video graphics array (VGA) or a super extendedgraphics array (SXGA).

The metadata generating portion 23 generates metadata Dm as theattribute information on an object of the monitoring. In a word, in themetadata generating portion 23, a dynamic body (illegally-parkedvehicle) is detected by using the video data Dv generated in the videodata generating portion 21. Also, dynamic body detection informationrepresenting whether or not the dynamic body is detected, andinformation on a number plate of the vehicle as the detected dynamicbody are contained in the metadata. In addition, the metadata generatingportion 23 contains time information TM in the metadata, which resultsin that it can reserve time at which the metadata is generated, that is,time at which the illegally-parked vehicle enters the no-parking area,and time at which the illegally-parked vehicle exits from the no-parkingarea in the form of recording.

Here, structures of the video data and the metadata will now bedescribed. Each of the video data and the metadata is composed of a datamain body and link information. The data main body is video data of avehicle photographed by the monitoring camera 1 in the video data. Also,the data main body is data in which the attribute information or thelike on the monitoring object, and attribute information in which adescription system of that attribute information or the like is definedare described in the metadata. On the other hand, the link informationis one in which association information representing association betweenthe video data and the metadata, and definition or the like of adescription system of the contents of the association information aredescribed.

For example, a time stamp, a sequence number or the like for specifyingthe video data is used as the association information. The time stampmeans time information of the video data, and the sequence number meanssequence information which is given in the order of generation of thecontents data. Thus, the imaging data on the vehicle as the video data,and the data on the time at which the vehicle is photographed as themetadata are managed so as to show one-on-one association.

Next, the details of a structural example of the client terminal 3 shownin FIG. 1A will now be described with reference to a functional diagramof FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, the client terminal 3 includes a networkconnecting portion 101, a video buffer portion 102, a video dataaccumulating database 104, a metadata buffer portion 103, a metadataaccumulating database 105, a no-parking area enter/exit determiningportion 106, a filter setting database 107, a rule changing portion 108,and an illegal parking determining portion 109. Here, the data istransmitted between an external apparatus such as the monitoring camera1, and the network connecting portion 101. The video buffer portion 102acquires the video data from the monitoring camera 1. The video dataaccumulating database 104 stores therein the acquired video data. Themetadata buffer portion 103 acquires the metadata containing therein thephotographing time information or the like from the monitoring camera 1.The metadata accumulating database 105 stores therein the acquiredmetadata. The no-parking area enter/exit determining portion 106determines whether or not the vehicle enters or exits from theno-parking area by executing the filter processing for the metadata. Thefilter setting database 107 stores therein data on setting of a virtualborderline (filter) based on which the no-parking area and other areaare distinguished from each other. The rule changing portion 108instructs the monitoring camera 1 to change the photographing settingthrough the network connecting portion 101. Also, the illegal parkingdetermining portion 109 specifies the illegally-parked vehicle, andcalculates a period of time for which the vehicle is illegally parked inthe no-parking area.

The video buffer portion 102 acquires the video data from the monitoringcamera 1 through the network connecting portion 101, and executesprocessing for decoding the encoded video data. In addition, the videobuffer portion 102 causes the video data accumulating database 104 tostore therein the video data held in the video buffer portion 102 inaccordance with a recording request supplied from the rule changingportion 108 which will be described later.

The metadata buffer portion 103 temporarily accumulates therein themetadata acquired from the monitoring camera 1, and causes the metadataaccumulating database 105 to successively store therein the metadataaccumulated in the metadata buffer portion 103. When the metadata isaccumulated in the metadata accumulating database 105, time informationof the video data synchronized with the metadata is added to themetadata.

The data on the setting of the filters such as the borderline is storedin the filter setting database 107. The data on the filter setting issupplied to the no-parking area enter/exit determining portion 106 whichwill be described below at a timing at which the no-parking areaenter/exit determining portion 106 executes the filter processing.

The no-parking area enter/exit determining portion 106 executes thefilter processing for the metadata acquired from the metadata bufferportion 103 by using the data on the filter setting accumulated in thefilter setting database 107. Also, the no-parking area enter/exitdetermining portion 106 informs the rule changing portion 108 of thefilter processing results. That is to say, the no-parking areaenter/exit determining portion 106 determines whether or not the dynamicbody detected by the monitoring camera 1 enters or exits from theno-parking area by using the filter (virtual borderline) stored in thefilter setting database 107. Also, the no-parking area enter/exitdetermining portion 106 outputs the determined results to the rulechanging portion 108.

The rule changing portion 108 generates the changing instruction signalCA based on the filter processing results reported from the no-parkingarea enter/exit determining portion 106. Thus, the rule changing portion108 instructs the monitoring camera 1 to change the photographingdirection, the zoom ratio, the resolution, and the like over to suitableones, respectively. The monitoring camera 1 photographs the dynamic bodyat the high resolution such as the VGA or the SXGA in accordance withthe changing instruction signal. CA transmitted thereto from the rulechanging portion 108 through the network connecting portion 101. Also,the video data on the image of the dynamic body photographed at the highresolution is accumulated in the video buffer portion 102.

In addition, the rule changing portion 108 supplies a recording requestsignal to each of the video buffer portion 102 and the metadata bufferportion 103 based on the filter processing results obtained from theno-parking area enter/exit determining portion 106. Thus, the metadataaccumulating database 105 is caused to store therein the metadataaccumulated in the metadata buffer portion 103. Also, the video dataaccumulating database 104 is caused to store therein the video dataaccumulated in the video buffer portion 102. By adopting such astructure, only the information necessary for specification of theillegally-parked vehicle is stored.

The illegal parking determining portion 109 reads out the metadatastored in the metadata accumulating database 105, and the video datastored in the video data accumulating database 104. Thus, the illegalparking determining portion 109 executes processing for comparing thevehicles which are determined to enter the no-parking area and exit fromthe no-parking area, respectively, from the filter processing in theno-parking area enter/exit determining portion 106 with each other basedon the number plate information recorded as the metadata. In addition,the illegal parking determining portion 109 calculates how long thevehicle is parked in the no-parking area from the information on thetime at which the vehicle enters the no-parking area, and theinformation on the time at which the vehicle exits from the no-parkingarea. Also, when determining that the vehicle photographed by themonitoring camera 1 has been parked in the no-parking area for a givenperiod of time from the calculated period of time for parking of thevehicle in the no-parking area, the illegal parking determining portion09 informs a district police station or the like of illegal vehicleinformation through the network connecting portion 101. In this case,the illegal parking determining portion 109 transmits the video data inthe phase of enter of the vehicle into the no-parking area, the videodata in the phase of exit of the vehicle from the no-parking area, andthe information on the calculated period of time for parking of thevehicle in the no-parking area as the illegal vehicle information.

Next, processing for monitoring an illegally-parked vehicle in amonitoring method according to an embodiment of the present inventionwill now be described with reference to a flow chart of FIG. 4, andexplanatory views of FIGS. 5 to 8. Referring to FIG. 4, firstly, themonitoring camera 1 photographs a no-parking area and a peripheral areathereof (Step S1). An image of the no-parking area and the peripheralarea thereof obtained through the photographing is subjected to imageprocessing in the image signal processing portion 213 (refer to FIG. 2)of the monitoring camera 1 whenever the photographing is carried out(Step S2).

FIG. 5 shows an example of the processing executed by the monitoringcamera 1 at this time. Referring to FIG. 5, the monitoring camera 1extensively photographs a no-parking area P1 and a peripheral areathereof. Thus, a situation is shown in which vehicles C1 to C3 areparked in the no-parking area P1. In addition, a virtual borderline VB1is provided as a boundary line marking the boundary between theno-parking area P1 and other area in a road R1 shown in FIG. 5. Thevirtual borderline VB1 serves as the filter. It is noted that althoughin FIG. 5, the monitoring camera 1 is installed in a position where itcan photograph the back side of each of the illegally-parked vehicles C1to C3, it may also be installed in a position where it can carry out thephotographing from the front side.

Referring back to the flow chart of FIG. 4, it is determined in Step S3whether or not the vehicle enters the no-parking area. When it isdetermined that the vehicle enters the no-parking area, the vehiclewhich enters the no-parking area is photographed at the high resolutionby the monitoring camera 1 (Step S4). Also, data on an image of thephotographed vehicle, and information on the time at which the vehicleconcerned enters the no-parking area are stored (Step S5). On the otherhand, when it is determined that no vehicle enters the no-parking area,the operation returns back to the processing in Step S1.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which a vehicle C4 enters the no-parking areaP1. That is to say, FIG. 6 shows a state in which the vehicle C4 reachesthe virtual borderline VB1. When the video data obtained in thephotographing of this state is transmitted from the monitoring camera 1to the client terminal 3, the no-parking area enter/exit determiningportion 106 (refer to FIG. 3) of the client terminal 3 executes thefilter processing. Also, the no-parking area enter/exit determiningportion 106 supplies the results of the filter processing to the rulechanging portion 108. Then, the rule changing portion 108 supplies thechanging instruction signal CA to the imaging setting changing portion22 (refer to FIG. 2) of the monitoring camera 1.

The imaging setting changing portion 22 which receives the changinginstruction signal CA transmits the change instruction to change theresolution together with the change instructions to change thephotographing angle and the zoom ratio to the lens portion 211, theimage pick-up portion 212, the image signal processing portion 213, andthe data processing portion 214 (refer to FIG. 2) of the video datagenerating portion 21, respectively. The monitoring camera 1 includingthe image pick-up portion 212 which receives the change instructiontransmitted thereto photographs the vehicle C4 crossing the virtualborderline VB1 at an angle of clearly photographing a number plate ofthe vehicle C4. Also, the image pick-up portion 212 transmits the dataon the image of the photographed vehicle C4 and the number plate, andthe photographing time information to the client terminal 3. Also, thedata on the image of the photographed vehicle C4 and the number plate,and the photographing time information are stored in each of themetadata accumulating database 105 (refer to FIG. 3) and the video dataaccumulating database 104 (refer to FIG. 3) of the client terminal 3.

Referring back to the flow chart of FIG. 4 again, after the data on thevehicle image is recorded in Step S5, the monitoring camera 1photographs the no-parking area and the peripheral area thereof at awide angle similarly to the processing in Step S1 (Step S6). The imageof the photographed vehicle is subjected to the image processing in theimage signal processing portion 213 of the monitoring camera 1 wheneverthe photographing is carried out (Step S7).

FIG. 7 shows an example in the case where the vehicle C4 is in thecourse of being parked in the no-parking area P1. As shown in thefigure, in a state in which the vehicle C4 is parallel parked betweenthe vehicle C1 on the front side and the vehicle C2 on the back side, aapace Al defined between the vehicle C4 and the vehicle C2 parked on theback side is very narrow. Therefore, it is difficult for the monitoringcamera 1 to photograph the number plate of the vehicle C4. For thisreason, in this embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle C4′ whichis crossing the virtual borderline VB1 is photographed by the monitoringcamera 1.

Referring back to the flow chart of FIG. 4 again to continue thedescription, it is determined in Step S8 whether or not the vehicle getsacross the virtual borderline VB1 to exit from the no-parking area tothe outside. This determination is carried out in a state in which noneof the vehicles being parked in the no-parking area P1 moves as shown inFIG. 7. That is to say, this determination is carried out in that stateby the no-parking area enter/exit determining portion 106 of the clientterminal 3 based on the video data and the metadata sent from themonitoring camera 1 which is in the course of photographing themonitoring area.

When it is determined that the vehicle crosses the virtual borderlineVB1 based on the filter processing executed in Step S8 by the no-parkingarea enter/exit determining portion 106, the monitoring camera 1photographs the vehicle C4 crossing the virtual borderline VB1 and thenumber plate thereof at the high resolution (Step S9). Also, themonitoring camera 1 transfers the data on the image of the photographedvehicle C4 and the number plate thereof, and the photographing timeinformation to the client terminal 3. Then, the data on the image of thephotographed vehicle C4 and the number plate thereof, and thephotographing time information are stored in each of the metadataaccumulating database 105 and the video data accumulating database 104of the client terminal 3 (Step S10). On the other hand, when it isdetermined that no vehicle crosses the virtual borderline VB1, that is,none of the vehicles being parked moves, the operation returns back tothe processing in Step S6.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which the vehicle C4 moves from itsparked position in order to exit from the no-parking area P1, andcrosses the virtual borderline VB1. Thus, the movement of the vehicle C4from its parked position results in that the monitoring camera 1 canphotograph the number plate of the vehicle C4.

Also, a period of time for which the vehicle is parked in the no-parkingarea is calculated from the photographing time information storedtogether with the video data of the vehicle in Step S5 of the flow chartshown in FIG. 4, and the photographing time information stored togetherwith the video data of the vehicle in Step S10. Thus, it is determinedwhether or not the parking period of time, for example, is 30 minutes ormore (Step S11). The specification of the vehicle, and the processingfor calculating the parking period of time are executed in the illegalparking determining portion 109 (refer to FIG. 3) of the client terminal3. It is noted that whether or not the vehicle photographed in Step S4,and the vehicle photographed in Step S9 are identical to each other isdetermined based on the number of the number plate.

When it is determined in Step S11 that the parking period of time is 30minutes or more, the vehicle concerned is regarded as theillegally-parked vehicle. Thus, the video data on the vehicle in thephase of enter into the no-parking area and in the phase of exit fromthe no-parking area which is stored in the video data accumulatingdatabase 104 of the client terminal 3, and the information on the entertime and the exit time about the vehicle which is stored in the metadataaccumulating database 105 are transferred to the district police stationunder jurisdiction, or the like (Step S12). At this time, video data ona face of a driver may also be transmitted together therewith. On theother hand, when it is determined that the parking period of time isshorter than 30 minutes, the operation returns back to the processing inStep S1 again. It is noted that the parking period of time as thethreshold value for the illegal parking crackdown is not limited to 30minutes, and thus any other suitable time unit may also be freely set.

The vehicle in the phase of enter into the no-parking area, and thevehicle in the phase of exit from the no-parking area are photographed,and the vehicle is specified from the number plate information on thenumber plate contained in the image in the manner as described above. Asa result, it is unnecessary to perform the photographing in thesituation in which the number plates of the vehicles in the phase of theparallel parking or the like are hardly viewed. In a word, since thereis less limit to the angle at which the number plate is photographed, aplurality of vehicles can be photographed by one monitoring camera. Forthis reason, the cost for the construction of the monitoring system canbe greatly reduced as compared with the case where a plurality ofmonitoring cameras are installed.

The period of time for which the vehicle is parked in the no-parkingarea is calculated from the information on the time at which the vehicleenters the no-parking area, and the information on the time at which thevehicle exits from the no-parking area. As a result, the illegal parkingcrackdown can be carried out depending on the parking period of time.

It is noted that although the description has been given so far withrespect to the embodiment in which the present invention is applied tothe construction using the monitoring camera and the client terminal,the present invention is not limited to that construction, and thus canbe applied to the various constructions. For example, an apparatusdedicated to the video recording which has a dynamic body detectingfunction and the metadata analyzing function, or the like may also beused instead of using the client terminal.

In addition, the system for monitoring the illegal parking of thevehicle in the no-parking area has been described in the aboveembodiments. However, the present invention can also be applied to anyother suitable monitoring processing for monitoring and recording thatthe vehicle is parked in the parking area provided in a side strip on aroad, and performing the accounting corresponding to the parking periodof time for the parked vehicle thus monitored and recorded.

In addition, although a series of processing in the embodiment describedabove can be executed by the hardware, it can also be executed by thesoftware. When the series of processing is executed by the software, itis executed by installing a program constituting the software in acomputer incorporated in the dedicated hardware. Or, it is executed byinstalling a program constituting desired software in a personalcomputer or the like which can carry out the various functions byinstalling therein the various programs.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A monitoring system for monitoring parking of avehicle in a specific area comprising: a monitoring image pick-updevice; and a monitoring apparatus configured to perform the monitoringbased on video data obtained by capturing an image of the vehicle bysaid monitoring image pick-up device; said monitoring image pick-updevice including an image pick-up portion for capturing an image of saidspecific area and a peripheral area thereof to generate the video data,said monitoring apparatus including a parking area enter/exitdetermining portion determining whether or not a vehicle detected basedon the video data generated by said image pick-up portion of saidmonitoring image pick-up apparatus enters or exits from said specificarea, an imaging setting change instructing portion instructing saidimage pick-up portion of said monitoring image pick-up device to performchanging of an image setting to another one suitable for imaging of avehicle image containing therein specific information on said vehiclewhen said parking area enter/exit determining portion determines thatsaid vehicle detected based on the video data enters or exits from saidspecific area, and a parking determining portion calculating a period oftime for which said vehicle is parked in said specific area based onimaging time of an image when said vehicle enters said specific area,and imaging time of an image when said vehicle exits from said specificarea, both the images being captured by said image pick-up portion ofsaid monitoring image pick-up device in accordance with the instructionissued from said imaging setting changing instructing portion, whereinsaid specific area is an area set as a no-parking area even though theno-parking area could accommodate a plurality of parked vehiclesarranged in a line such that a second vehicle is parked between a firstvehicle and a third vehicle such that a front of the second vehicle isbehind a back of the first vehicle and a back of the second vehicle isin front of a front of the third vehicle, wherein when the period oftime calculated by the parking determining portion for which saidvehicle is parked in the no-parking area is greater than a predeterminedamount of time, illegal information pertaining to (i) said vehicle and(ii) the time when said vehicle enters the no-parking area and the timewhen said vehicle exits from the no-parking area or the calculatedperiod of time corresponding thereto is transferred to a respectivepolice station having jurisdiction, wherein a virtual borderline isprovided in a boundary between said specific area and the peripheralarea thereof, and wherein said specific area enter/exit determiningportion determines whether or not said vehicle enters or exits from saidspecific area depending on whether or not said vehicle crosses saidvirtual borderline by utilizing the image or images of said vehiclecaptured by said image pick-up portion which are obtained upon saidvehicle crossing the virtual borderline such that the image or imagesare not obtained while said vehicle is parked in said specific area. 2.The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the specificinformation on said vehicle is information on a number plate of saidvehicle.
 3. The monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein saidparking determining portion executes processing for comparing thevehicle which enters said specific area and the vehicle which exits fromsaid specific area with each other based on the information on thenumber plate of said vehicle contained in an image captured by saidimage pick-up portion of said monitoring image pick-up device.
 4. Themonitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the imaging settingsuitable for the imaging of the vehicle image containing therein thespecific information on said vehicle is a setting for performing theimaging at a high resolution.
 5. The monitoring system according toclaim 1, wherein said monitoring image pick-up device includes anattribute information generating portion for generating attributeinformation containing therein photographing time information of thevideo data generated by said image pick-up portion; and time at whichthe image of the vehicle is captured in a phase of enter into saidspecific area, and time at which the image of the vehicle is captured ina phase of exit from said specific area constitute photographing timeinformation generated by said attribute information generating portion.6. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein when the periodof time calculated by the parking determining portion for which saidvehicle is parked in the no-parking area is greater than thepredetermined amount of time, in addition to the information pertainingto (i) said vehicle and (ii) the time when said vehicle enters theno-parking area and the time when said vehicle exits from the no-parkingarea or the calculated period of time corresponding thereto, video dataon a face of a driver of the vehicle is transferred to the respectivepolice station having jurisdiction.
 7. A monitoring apparatus formonitoring parking of a vehicle in a specific area, comprising: an imagepick-up portion configured to capture an image of said specific area anda peripheral area thereof to generate video data; a parking areaenter/exit determining portion configured to determine whether or not avehicle detected based on the video data enters or exits from saidspecific area; an imaging setting change instructing portion configuredto instruct said image pick-up portion to perform changing of an imagingsetting to another one suitable for imaging of a vehicle imagecontaining therein specific information on said vehicle when saidparking area enter/exit determining portion determines that said vehicledetected based on the video data enters or exits from said specificarea; and a parking determining portion configured to calculate a periodof time for which said vehicle is parked in said specific area based onimaging time of an image when said vehicle enters said specific area,and imaging time of an image when said vehicle exits from said specificarea, both the images being captured by said image pick-up portion inaccordance with the instruction issued from said imaging setting changeinstructing portion, wherein said specific area is an area set as ano-parking area even though the no-parking area could accommodate aplurality of parked vehicles arranged in a line such that a secondvehicle is parked between a first vehicle and a third vehicle such thata front of the second vehicle is behind a back of the first vehicle anda back of the second vehicle is in front of a front of the thirdvehicle, wherein when the period of time calculated by the parkingdetermining portion for which said vehicle is parked in the no-parkingarea is greater than a predetermined amount of time, illegal informationpertaining to (i) said vehicle and (ii) the time when said vehicleenters the no-parking area and the time when said vehicle exits from theno-parking area or the calculated period of time corresponding theretois transferred to a respective police station having jurisdiction,wherein a virtual borderline is provided in a boundary between saidspecific area and the peripheral area thereof, and wherein said specificarea enter/exit determining portion determines whether or not saidvehicle enters or exits from said specific area depending on whether ornot said vehicle crosses said virtual borderline by utilizing the imageor images of said vehicle captured by said image pick-up portion whichare obtained upon said vehicle crossing the virtual borderline such thatthe image or images are not obtained while said vehicle is parked insaid specific area.
 8. A monitoring method of monitoring parking of avehicle in a specific area, comprising the steps of: capturing an imageof said specific area and a peripheral area thereof to generate videodata; determining whether or not a vehicle detected based on the videodata enters or exits from said specific area; performing changing of animaging setting to another one suitable for imaging of a vehicle imagecontaining therein specific information on said vehicle when it isdetermined that said vehicle detected based on the video data enters orexits from said specific area, thereby capturing an image of saidvehicle containing therein the specific information on said vehicle; andcalculating a period of time for which said vehicle is parked in saidspecific area based on time at which an image of said vehicle in a phaseof entering said specific area is captured, and time at which an imageof said vehicle in a phase of exiting from said specific area iscaptured, wherein said specific area is an area set as a no-parking areaeven though the no-parking area could accommodate a plurality of parkedvehicles arranged in a line such that a second vehicle is parked betweena first vehicle and a third vehicle such that a front of the secondvehicle is behind a back of the first vehicle and a back of the secondvehicle is in front of a front of the third vehicle, wherein when theperiod of time calculated by the calculating step for which said vehicleis parked in the no-parking area is greater than a predetermined amountof time, illegal information pertaining to (i) said vehicle and (ii) thetime when said vehicle enters the no-parking area and the time when saidvehicle exits from the no-parking area or the calculated period of timecorresponding thereto is transferred to a respective police stationhaving jurisdiction, wherein a virtual borderline is provided in aboundary between said specific area and the peripheral area thereof, andwherein said specific area enter/exit determining portion determineswhether or not said vehicle enters or exits from said specific areadepending on whether or not said vehicle crosses said virtual borderlineby utilizing the image or images of said vehicle captured by said imagepick-up portion which are obtained upon said vehicle crossing thevirtual borderline such that the image or images are not obtained whilesaid vehicle is parked in said specific area.